By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Runners from Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High finished out the cross country season strong in Anchorage on Saturday, despite encountering both a bear and a moose on the running trails.
Sitka’s boys team, Region V champions here last week, took fourth place out of eight teams at state. As usual, senior Dominic Baccioco led the Wolves, finishing in 16:32 to claim second place. Being near the head of the running pack, Baccioco was the one who encountered the bear. The run-in was peaceful.
Anchorage Christian’s Tristan Merchant took first with a blistering time of 15:27. The ACS boys team won state this year.
Sitka coach Shasta Smith said that she’s “looking forward to watching Dom in the postseason, as he has some meets coming up where the competition will be fierce, and he will have lots of people to run against.”
Asa Demmert finished in 7th place out of 72 racers with his time of 17:00. Smith said that Demmert “had an incredible season. What he was able to do with his very first year of running cross country was amazing.”
Mt. Edgecumbe’s qualifying boys start the Stae Championship race in Anchorage, Saturday. (Photo provided by Josh Arnold/MEHS)
Sitka’s third finisher was Kobi Weiland, claiming 23rd place at 18:24. Colton Ewers was close behind him at 18:52. According to Coach Smith, Ewers has “established himself as quite the runner, and his future is quite bright. I expect to see him running faster as he has more race experience and strength moving into next year.”
Hahlen Behnken Barkhau was just two seconds behind Ewers at 18:54. Silas Demmert finished the course in 19:19. Not far behind, Asa Dow ran in 19:36.
The Sitka girls took sixth place out of nine teams, led by their freshman runner Anna Prussian. She ran the course in 19:50, taking second place. Coach Smith noted that Anna becomes a more talented runner with each race, saying “excited as she becomes a better racer each time she steps to the line.”
Homer’s Autumn Daigle finished first in the girls race at 19:32. Grace Christian won the girls race overall.
Tawny Smith finished in 22:10, followed by Lindsey Bartolaba at 24:12. Addie Poulson finished the race in 25:24. Alyssa Henshaw ran the course in 28:28, and Sitka’s Danish exchange student Nicolene Christensen finished in 29:00 even.
Smith said that overall, she was “pleased with the girls’ and boys’ team finishes.”
Mt. Edgecumbe cross country didn’t send scoring teams up north, but did send their top runners. While the Edgecumbe team avoided the bear encounter, a bull moose did make an appearance for them. MEHS coach Josh Arnold noted that his runners enjoy going to the state meet, as “they have friends and family in almost every race.” Arnold described the course as “turns and hills.”
Mia Anderson ran the course in 22:53 to claim 26th place of 67 runners. The race was her personal record.
Robin Masterman was MEHS’ next finisher at 24:11. Arnold said that the state meet was her time to “buckle down and run hard.” She did.
Adeline Dyment finished in 24:59, followed by Aliyah Schumann at 25:42. Sunset Woods ran the race in 26:02. Kayla Kashevarov finished in 26:57.
The Edgecumbe boys were led by Dayton Hoblet, who ran a season best time of 18:41 to snag 32nd place. Freshman Connor Journey finished in 19:06. David Bahnke ran the race in 19:58.
Edgecumbe’s usual top finisher, Lloydy Ayojiak finished in 21:51. Ayojiak “rolled his ankle on the first lap,” according to Arnold. “I had to carry him off the course.”
Arnold said that he had high hopes for his team next year, but that the runners needed to practice over the summer. He said “there’s no replacement for getting out there and logging some miles on the trails.” Because MEHS is a boarding school, their runners begin training in late August and can’t have summer practices.
Arnold noted that his runners “are just willing to work hard and run with smiles on their faces every day, and as a coach and I just can’t ask for more than that.”
The state meet concludes a short but lively cross country season, which saw many old records fall to rising cross country stars.
